The Childhood of an Angel
by Krystina
Summary: A series of short stories that looks back at Kelly's childhood, and what it was like to grow up as an orphan.


Disclaimer – I do not take credit for the character Kelly. This character is the creation of Aaron Spelling Productions. I have created all other characters that appear in the story.  
  
Sister Nancy walked into the small bedroom, carrying a tray with some toast on it. She had been working with orphans for almost 30 years, but it had been a long time since she had gotten attached to any of them. Most of them arrived, and then left before she even had a chance to get to know them. Kelly was different though. She was more needy then the other children; she was less willing to accept that they were all in the same situation, and that they should make the best of it, together. Instead, she kept to herself, determined to survive in the world alone, that way she would never have to get hurt.  
  
Inside the room, the lights were off and the curtains on the windows were completely closed, making the room dark, despite the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon. There were two beds in the room, each of them propped up against the walls, with a small aisle in between them. The bed on the right hand side was made neatly, with everything in its proper place. In the bed on the left-hand side, however, lay Kelly, a wash cloth on her forehead as she slept. Kelly had been complaining of stomach pains for two days, but she hadn't had a fever until that morning. Concerned about her, Sister Nancy placed the tray down on the dresser before sitting in the chair, which she had placed next to the bed. She then gently shook Kelly's shoulder until she was awake. Sister Nancy was hoping that Kelly would be able to eat something, anything to make up for the fact that she hadn't had an appetite in two days.  
  
"Do you feel any better?" Sister Nancy asked as she removed the wash cloth from Kelly's forehead.  
  
"No. My stomach hurts." Kelly replied. Her normally strong voice was weak, a clear indicator that she wasn't feeling any better.  
  
"In the same spot?" Sister Nancy asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Does it hurt when you walk around, or only when someone touches it?"  
  
"All the time." Kelly replied.  
  
"Do you want to try to eat something? I brought you up some toast."  
  
"I'm not hungry." Kelly replied, worrying Sister Nancy. Originally, she had thought that Kelly just had an upset stomach, or the flu, but it didn't appear to be that way. Kelly wasn't getting any better, despite constant rest, and that worried Sister Nancy.  
  
"Ok. I'll be right back sweetie." Not knowing what else to do, Sister Nancy walked out of the room, down the stairs, and over to the phone in the foyer where she dialed the doctor's number. Right as she was doing so, Sister Catherine, a younger, less experienced nun, walked over to her.  
  
"What's going on?" Sister Catherine inquired, but Sister Nancy just gestured for her to wait a second as the doctor answered the phone.  
  
"Doctor McKiltrick? This is Sister Nancy at the Catholic orphanage. I'm calling about one of the orphans here, she's 6 and has been experiencing stomach pains and a lost of appetite for the past two days. She developed a fever this morning."  
  
As Sister Nancy answered the doctor's questions, she kept praying that he would tell her that it was nothing to be concerned about, but she couldn't be so lucky. After he got all of the symptoms, he advised that she take Kelly to the local hospital to be checked out by a doctor there. He wouldn't tell her what he expected was wrong, but he seemed to feel that it was important that Kelly see a doctor immediately.  
  
After hanging up the phone, Sister Nancy just stood there for a few seconds, worried about what could be wrong with Kelly, almost like a mother would be worried about her own child. As she stood there, Sister Catherine started to ask multiple questions, and Sister Nancy realized that she would have to explain what was going on.  
  
"I think Kelly's really sick Catherine. I'm going to take her to the hospital for a doctor to examine her."  
  
"I thought she just had an upset stomach."  
  
"That's what I thought, but it hasn't gone away, and now she has a fever. She needs to see a doctor. Can you handle things here by yourself?"  
  
"Sure. Do you think it's serious?"  
  
"I hope not." Sister Nancy replied before walking up the stairs and back into Kelly's room. She then took a blanket from the other bed, before telling Kelly to sit up. As she slowly did so, Sister Nancy placed the blanket around her shoulders before helping to put her shoes on, and then helping her to stand up.  
  
"Where are we going?" Kelly asked.  
  
"We're going to see the doctor so that he can make you feel better." Sister Nancy replied as she kept her arms around Kelly's shoulders. As Kelly moved, however, she kept wanting to double over, the pain too much for her to handle, but Sister Nancy wouldn't let her. She helped her walk down the stairs, and then helped her out to the car where she let her lay down in the back seat.  
  
The drive to the hospital wasn't too long, and when they arrived, Sister Nancy parked at the emergency room doors before guiding Kelly into the building. Once inside, she lead Kelly over to the waiting room chairs, and let her sit down before she approached a nurse to try to find out how long it would be before a doctor could look at Kelly. She was told that a doctor would be over shortly, however, so Sister Nancy walked back over to Kelly and sat down next to her, as she let Kelly rest her head on her shoulder. As they waited, Sister Nancy looked down at Kelly's face and realized how pale she had become in the past several days. Her normally radiant skin was turning a ghostly white color, and her normally neat brown hair was pulled back loosely into a pony tail, with strands of it resting on her face and on her neck. Despite having seen hundreds of the girls get sick, Sister Nancy had never seen any of them this sick.  
  
It only took about fifteen minutes before a relatively young doctor walked over to them and showed them to an exam room, but to Sister Nancy, those fifteen minutes felt like an eternity. After going over Kelly's symptoms with him, however, Sister Nancy was forced to just watch as he examined Kelly, and asked her how she felt. He didn't show any signs that Sister Nancy should be concerned, but then just when it looked like he was going to say everything was ok, his demeanor changed.  
  
"Who's her legal guardian?" the doctor asked, which set alarms off in Sister Nancy's head.  
  
"Technically, I am. She was abandoned when she was an infant, and has been living in orphanages ever since."  
  
"Ok. I need to speak to you in the hallway then. We'll be right back, all right Kelly?"  
  
Kelly shook her head yes as Sister Nancy walked out of the room with the doctor, determined to find out what was going on.  
  
"What's wrong with her doctor? Is it serious?"  
  
"Kelly has an appendicitis. We're going to have to operate right away before it bursts. How long has she been experiencing these symptoms?"  
  
"Two days now I guess. That's when she told me about the stomach pains."  
  
"Alright. We'll have to act fast then, chances are her appendix could burst any minute now. Are you authorized to ok the surgery?"  
  
"Yes. She's going to be ok, isn't she doctor?"  
  
"If we get it out in time, she should be. I'll be able to tell you more after the surgery."  
  
"Just give me whatever I have to sign."  
  
"I'll have one of the nurses go over all of that while I prep a room in the OR."  
  
With that said, the doctor led Sister Nancy over to one of the nurses before disappearing down a hallway. The nurse then sat Sister Nancy down and explained all of the admittance and surgery consent forms to her, all of which Sister Nancy was happy to sign. By the time she was finished, however, Kelly had already been taken up to surgery.  
  
With time to kill, Sister Nancy walked over to the hospital chapel where she knelt in front of the Virgin Mary statue and started to pray. She wasn't doing so because she was supposed to, but because she was truly scared, and was in desperate need of some comforting thoughts. For an hour she knelt there, her eyes shut as she concentrated on the words "Please God, let this child be ok". When she finally left the chapel, it was only because she was afraid that she would miss the doctor, or any news as to how the surgery was going.  
  
After the first two hours past, however, Sister Nancy was getting restless as she sat in the waiting room of the pediatrics ward. Someone was supposed to meet her there as soon as Kelly was out of surgery, but so far she had heard nothing. With every second that passed, Sister Nancy's heart seemed to beat a little faster as she found it harder and harder to sit still. Trying to remain calm, she walked over to the pay phone, figuring that she should at least let Sister Catherine know what was going on.  
  
"Hello?" Sister Catherine said as she answered on the other end.  
  
"Catherine, it's Nancy. I'm still at the hospital."  
  
"Is everything all right?"  
  
"No. Kelly's in surgery right now. They have to remove her appendix."  
  
"Is there anything I can do?"  
  
"Pray for her." Sister Nancy replied before seeing the doctor walk out of the forbidden doors and then begin to look around for her. "The doctor just came out. I'll call you back later." She didn't even wait for Sister Catherine to respond as she hung up the phone and rushed over to the doctor. "How is she?"  
  
"She's resting. We removed her appendix just in time, so she should be fine in a couple of days."  
  
"May I see her?" Sister Nancy replied, as she finally started to relax.  
  
"Of course. She probably won't be waking up for a couple of hours though."  
  
"That's alright. I just want to be there, that way she doesn't wake up alone."  
  
"She's in room 201B. I'll be keeping her here for 2 or 3 days as a precaution."  
  
"Thank you doctor."  
  
Once the doctor had walked away, Sister Nancy silently thanked God, before doing the sign of the cross and then going to find Kelly's room, which wasn't hard. When she walked inside, Kelly was lying on the bed, peacefully sleeping. Sister Nancy smiled as she pulled over one of the chairs and sat down next to the bed, before brushing a stray piece of hair off of Kelly's face. She then put Kelly's small hand in her's as she kissed it, relieved that she was going to be ok.  
  
Sister Nancy sat there the entire time that Kelly was asleep, never wanting to move, mostly because she was afraid that Kelly would wake up not knowing where she was and be scared. As the night passed into day, however, Sister Nancy found herself dozing off in the chair, unable to keep herself awake much longer. One of the nurses had provided her with a blanket and a pillow, making it even harder for her to keep her eyes open, even if it was just until she had seen Kelly wake up.  
  
It wasn't until late the next morning that Kelly finally began to stir, but even then it was another 20 minutes before her eyes actually opened. When they did, however, Sister Nancy could see the fear in them as Kelly began to scan the room, looking for anything that was familiar.  
  
"It's ok sweetie. I'm here." Sister Nancy told Kelly as she squeezed her hand.  
  
"Where am I?" Kelly whispered to her. Her voice was still weak, but Sister Nancy could see the life taking over Kelly's face again.  
  
"You're in the hospital. You had to have an operation." Sister Nancy tried to explain. She knew that Kelly didn't know what an appendicitis was, and figured that it would probably be better if the doctor explained it. "You're going to be just fine though." Sister Nancy added, realizing that the word operation had made Kelly more afraid then waking up in a strange room.  
  
"Do I have to stay here?" Kelly asked her.  
  
"Only for a couple of days. The doctor wants you to be all better when you come home."  
  
"Are you going to stay too?" Kelly asked.  
  
"Of course I will." Sister Nancy replied as she smiled at Kelly while squeezing her hand. "I'll always be right here."  
  
Kelly ended up spending the next two days in the hospital, and the entire time, Sister Nancy stayed by her side. As the first day passed into the next, however, Sister Nancy could see the life re-occupying Kelly's body as her energy gradually increased. The stronger she got, however, the more independent she wanted to be. By the time Kelly was leaving the hospital, Sister Nancy was seeing the same little girl who felt that she needed to shut out the world, except there was one difference. Around Sister Nancy, Kelly was a little more open, almost trusting of her. It was almost as if Sister Nancy's being there when Kelly desperately needed a mother figure had punctured some sort of hole through Kelly's protective shell, therefore giving Sister Nancy the special bond with Kelly that she was hoping for. Sister Nancy's only hope was that this trust between her and Kelly would rub off on future relationships that Kelly would have with people, therefore helping her to reach her highest potential. After all, Sister Nancy wasn't sure what Kelly was going to end up doing with her life, but for some reason, she had a feeling that Kelly too would one day be in a position of helping people. 


End file.
